War Veteran Uses His Special Talent To Commemorate Fallen Soldiers

While Reagan said he considers the work he's doing as a "blessing," he said it can also be difficult at times.

"I spend a lot of my life looking at dead people, and I’m not gonna pretend. It is hard. So on my walks what I do is transition. It allows me to say goodbye to the people I just drew," he said.

Reagan said he usually draws two portraits a day, spending about five hours on each picture. He always begins his portraits with the fallen soldier's eyes, which he said makes the portraits come to life. After he's finished, he goes for a five mile walk to reflect on the portraits he's drawn for the day.

"This is my life," Reagan said. "I'm living my destiny. And it took me a couple of years to understand what that really meant. It took a comment by a Gold Star father. One time, he said to me, 'You know what you’re getting after doing all this work, right? Your soul is getting to come home from Vietnam.' When he said it, I knew it was true."